How to Build a Spider Web Obstacle Course

We have actually built spider web obstacle courses a few times, but this was our first go at it in our California condo. It is also the first time this activity has made it onto my blog, apparently! If I still had all four kids in one room, I would have had them hang the web from one bunk bed to the other. Since Johnny escaped to his own room, we opted to use the dining room table instead.

Our dining room table is actually three IKEA tables clamped together using C clamps. We get a lot of compliments on our big table, and it is a sturdy and affordable solution. The size also means that there are plenty of table legs to secure yarn too, as well as more than enough space for four children underneath.

To build the web, I started by tying a ball of yarn to one leg of our table. Then the kids took turns pulling the yarn over to another chair leg, wrapping it around, and then passing it to someone else. This was an excellent collaborative activity for my four kids. As they passed the ball of yarn around, they offered input on where to put the string next. They did this with the understanding that whoever was holding the string got final say on where it would go next. This type of group activity is wonderful for raising kids who get along.

As you can see, they are very proud of their final product! Or, nearly final product! Anna is still putting on some finishing touches. They set it up a little high to climb over, so they took turns crawling underneath, and trying to pop their heads through the openings in the web without touching the yarn. Navigating your way through a maze like this takes a lot of concentration!

Spider Web Obstacle Course Tips

I loved having this project set up under the dining room table! It was a safe, contained space that was still large enough for the kids to move around. The web is also nearly invisible from an adult’s height, so we have decided to leave it up for a few days. The yarn is creeping down the chair legs, so maybe tomorrow they will be stepping through on their hands and feet instead of bumping their heads into the yarn. Tape the yarn to the chair legs with a little masking tape or scotch tape if you don’t want it to slip down like this. The tape won’t hurt a stained table like ours, but test on the inside of the leg of your table first if there is any chance it could remove the finish.

We have had a lot of fun using masking tape to build a similar spider web across living room furniture in the past. Masking tape has the added benefit of being sticky, like a real spider web!